THE LOTUS EFFECT

When water hits a lotus leaf, it pools up or rolls right off. This so-called lotus effect is due to a complex system of microscopic bumps on the leaf’s waxy surface. These superhydrophobic structures protect the lotus from pathogens like fungi, which are easily swept off its leaves by water droplets. Although the lotus effect has been known in Asia for millennia—and was even noted in ancient Hindu texts—it was only scientifically understood in the early 1970s, thanks to the invention of what? More… Discuss